Warm up to the blues

LIMA — Warm up your winter with a blues fix at the January Blues Concert when Rich DelGrosso heats up the night with his mandolin blues, starting at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Allen County Museum.

Although DelGrosso was located by the Blues Committee of Lima, it’s the Allen County Historical Society offering the concert venue for this concert.

“We look at the blues as a uniquely American form of music. It did not migrate here, but it grew up here,” said Pat Smith, director of the Allen County Museum.

“Allen County was the recipient of migration when the southern sounds migrated to the north in the early part of the 20th century. And, this is something fun for a winter evening,” Smith added.

DelGrosso grew up in Detroit, where he learned to play the mandolin by ear. A science teacher and writer by profession, his love of the mandolin music was ignited by Chicago blues musician Johnny Young. Since hearing Young’s music, DelGrosso perfected his craft and is now regarded as the leading exponent of mandolin blues. He has receiving the Keeping the Blues Alive award from the Blues Foundation in Memphis.

“I think Rich is a great tie with this museum because he started performing as a hobby that bloomed into a passion. I think that’s how it is with a lot of people when they start looking into history. It starts as an interest and spreads to a passion,” Smith said.

All next week, DelGrosso will be working with students at the Liberty Arts Magnet and St. Gerard Elementary as part of the Blues in the Schools program.

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